A college savings account in a child’s name not only gives parents hope for the future, it also results in improved social-emotional health for their children.
Child savings accounts promote positive social-emotional development, study finds

A college savings account in a child’s name not only gives parents hope for the future, it also results in improved social-emotional health for their children.
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) recently launched the first large-scale test of college savings accounts when it incorporated a college savings and financial counseling component into GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness for Undergraduate Programs), its initiative to prepare youth for college.
Asset-building scholars, policymakers, and foundations gathered earlier this month in Washington, DC to celebrate the 21st anniversary of “Assets and the Poor: A New American Welfare Policy.”
In Assets and the Poor, Michael Sherraden, PhD, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, writes that asset accumulation is structured and subsidized for many non-poor households, primarily via retirement accounts and home ownership.
The Center for Social Development congratulates Michal Grinstein-Weiss on her receipt of the Deborah K. Padgett Early Career Achievement Award from the Society for Social Work and Research.
Child Development Accounts are savings accounts that begin as early as birth. CDAs allow parents and children to accumulate savings for post-secondary education, homeownership or business initiatives.
The availability of savings products for young people, especially in the developing world, remains extremely limited despite demand for safe and regulated institutions, a large potential market, and growing evidence about the potential of savings to benefit youth.
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis devoted a feature article in the spring issue of its publication, Bridges, to Child Development Accounts, an innovative tool for making long-term investments in children.
The Center for Social Development announces the publication of the March 2009 SEED Account Monitoring research report.